Remember, People: Only Headshots!

[Stephanie B]

There is some new "mystery virus" in China.
A mystery virus - previously unknown to science - is causing severe lung disease in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has been detected in two other countries.

Two people are known to have died from the virus, which appeared in the city in December. (https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51048366)In at least World War Z, if not other works, the zombie virus originated in some toxic lake in China.

Those infected from Wuhan probably aren't going to arise from the grave and begin eating people. But if they do, aim for the braincase.

[blues]

https://youtu.be/jnZIP-zF1Us

[AMC]

I hate to break it to you folks, but the living dead have been among us for some time. Ever been to the Tenderloin in SF?

[blues]

I hate to break it to you folks, but the living dead have been among us for some time. Ever been to the Tenderloin in SF?

It's funny. In the short time I lived in SF in 1976 I used to hear about how bad the Tenderloin was and I just didn't see it. (I'm sure it's a lot worse now, but still, they spoke of it like it was sure death if you went there.)

[AMC]

It's funny. In the short time I lived in SF in 1976 I used to hear about how bad the Tenderloin was and I just didn't see it. (I'm sure it's a lot worse now, but still, they spoke of it like it was sure death if you went there.)

In 1976 most of the city wasn't too bad. My grandmother used to take me downtown on the Muni to Macys, City of Paris, Emporium, etc. Wore her hat and white gloves...we'd walk up to the St. Francis Hotel to have lunch. Back then, not so bad. Late '80s to 2000's....bad. The walking dead.

[blues]

In 1976 most of the city wasn't too bad. My grandmother used to take me downtown on the Muni to Macys, City of Paris, Emporium, etc. Wore her hat and white gloves...we'd walk up to the St. Francis Hotel to have lunch. Back then, not so bad. Late '80s to 2000's....bad. The walking dead.

I was living sharing an apartment on Hyde St. between Bush and Sutter back then. Took over an apartment my cousin was living in. Building has since, (I read), burned down. It was a nice old brownstone.

Last time I was there was 1991 for a week or two.

[pangloss]

My brother-in-law lives in that neighborhood of SF. I've never been there and have no desire to visit. My mother-in-law said that the last time she was there, she didn't see any needles on the sidewalk. Apparently this was an improvement over the visit before that.

Sent from my moto e5 cruise using Tapatalk

[JohnO]

I hate to break it to you folks, but the living dead have been among us for some time. Ever been to the Tenderloin in SF?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a6YdNmK77k

[Nephrology]

Those infected from Wuhan probably aren't going to arise from the grave and begin eating people. But if they do, aim for the braincase.

More likely they will die of ARDS in a weird substandard Chinese ICU. Hope those viruses stay in China and don't make their way over here.

[farscott]

Looks like we are going to see this virus sooner rather than later as it has made it to Beijing before the Chinese New Year. The amount of travel associated with the holiday means the virus will have lots of transmission vectors.

[Yung]

At least I'm pretty sure Madagascar is safe.

/joke

[Baldanders]

At least I'm pretty sure Madagascar is safe.

/joke

I hear Greenland is nice this time of year.


Speaking of the black humor of Plague Inc., I always start in China.

[Olim9]

At least I'm pretty sure Madagascar is safe.

/joke

The president of Madagascar just closed off the ports this morning 😂

[Stephanie B]

At least I'm pretty sure Madagascar is safe.

/joke

World War Z: Cuba and Israel were pretty safe places.

[Chance]

H1N1, H5N1, H7N9... how many H's and N's are in this version?

[farscott]

H1N1, H5N1, H7N9... how many H's and N's are in this version?

As of now, CDC and WHO are calling it "2019 nCoV" for "2019 novel Coronavirus" per https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html The Chinese have provided the genome per the CDC, and China CDC National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention has isolated and reported five genomes. It appears to be a member of Beta-CoV lineage B. I have no idea what any of that means, being an engineer and not a doctor, but I know we have members who can expound and expand on the information.

[WobblyPossum]

The article I read this morning confirms the virus is now passing from human to human instead of just animal to human. Several healthcare workers have caught it.

[Nephrology]

H1N1, H5N1, H7N9... how many H's and N's are in this version?

the HxNx nomenclature is specific to influenza (H = hemagglutinin, N= neuraminidase; two proteins the flu makes that mediate infection and have a reasonable degree of structural variation). Per below this is a coronavirus so no Hs or Ns in this guy.


As of now, CDC and WHO are calling it "2019 nCoV" for "2019 novel Coronavirus" per https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html The Chinese have provided the genome per the CDC, and China CDC National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention has isolated and reported five genomes. It appears to be a member of Beta-CoV lineage B. I have no idea what any of that means, being an engineer and not a doctor, but I know we have members who can expound and expand on the information.

Coronaviruses are a + sense RNA virus species that includes SARS and MERS. That said, as with many other viral species, there are a legion of less well known coronaviruses out there that are either restricted to non-human hosts or do not cause clinically significant disease in humans. If you reflect back on the hundreds and hundreds of vague, annoying, but mostly harmless upper respiratory infections you've gotten over your life, there is a good chance some flavor of coronavirus was responsible for some % of them.

AFAIK the scary coronaviruses (SARS/MERS) were zoonotic infections, i.e. animal → human transmission. Not clear what the deal with the new virus is. Also not clear if the three patients who died from this new coronavirus died from primary viral infection or from a secondary bacterial infection +/- consequences of pre-existing comorbidities.

To put all this in perspective, regular old influenza was responsible for ~45,000 deaths during the 2018-2019 flu season (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6824a3.htm?s_cid=mm6824a3_w) in the United States alone. Get your fucking flu shot and don't worry about some new virus in China you are unlikely to remember in 3 months' time.

[farscott]

My only concern is I have team members going to and from Suzhou and Shenzhen on a regular basis, so person-to-person transmission is a concern.

[Nephrology]

My only concern is I have team members going to and from Suzhou and Shenzhen on a regular basis, so person-to-person transmission is a concern.

Unfortunately not a lot you can do about it beyond basic common sense precautions. Still more likely to run into more common pathogenic viruses (aka flu, measles, etc) than this virus anyway. Per CDC the overall public health risk is still very low; wouldn't lose sleep over it.

[fly out]

WaPo is reporting the first confirmed case in the U.S., in Washington (state). Someone who had recently returned from a trip to China.

[Matt Helm]

It is very clear now , that more and more Asians are ,and have been wearing filter type masks and medical breathing masks.
I have noticed this on TV news shows a lot ,last year, and now more recently. Millions of crowded people spreading bacteria and this "#Coronavirus".

Mother Nature may have the mysterious means to weed out humanity ,when our earthly community get too tight.

[farscott]

It is very clear now , that more and more Asians are ,and have been wearing filter type masks and medical breathing masks.
I have noticed this on TV news shows a lot ,last year, and now more recently. Millions of crowded people spreading bacteria and this "#Coronavirus".

Mother Nature may have the mysterious means to weed out humanity ,when our earthly community get too tight.

The masks are not new. In 1996, I spent three weeks in Japan to oversee a rework, and half the people in the office and on the trains wore masku.

[Kukuforguns]

I hate to break it to you folks, but the living dead have been among us for some time. Ever been to the Tenderloin in SF?

I lived there between 1995 and 1998. I heard gunshots at night with disturbing frequency. But the worst part was walking across UN Plaza with a stiff breeze. The homeless used the fountain as a urinal and, yeah, pretty much what you're thinking.

[Yung]

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/weather/topstories/at-least-13-killed-in-torrential-rains-in-madagascar/ar-BBZgh4G